Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh: Five workers have died and several others are feared trapped after a section of an under-construction bridge collapsed during a severe storm. The accident happened in the Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Officials said that a concrete slab, a bridge pillar, and the temporary wooden support structures (shuttering) all came crashing down.The disaster took place at the Kandaur-Morakandar bridge construction site, which is located in the Kurara Police Station area. A crew was working late into the night when the storm hit.
Rescue teams rushed to the site as soon as they heard about the collapse around 2 AM. Police, local administrative officials, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are all on the scene clearing debris and searching for survivors.Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Hamirpur, Arvind Kumar Verma, said:"We reached the spot immediately after receiving the information around 2 am last night that a slab had collapsed and some people were trapped beneath it. SDRF is here, and rescue operations are underway. We have retrieved and identified five deceased."Local residents explained that a powerful storm hit the area around midnight, causing the bridge segments to break apart and fall.A local resident living near the site shared what he saw:"Around midnight last night, a very strong storm hit. We all woke up. A bridge was being built about 400 meters from my village. Work was going on through the night. Due to the storm, the segments broke and fell. Consequently, the support pillars also broke, and all the segments collapsed. Two of our guards, who were protecting the bridge, were crushed and died. There is an estimate of four labourers involved--two have been accounted for, and two are believed to be trapped. It appears this accident was caused by the storm."Another witness, Sarvesh Tiwari, confirmed that the crew was actively working on the pillars and slabs when the weather turned dangerous:"Work on the pillars and slabs was in progress. Last night, a storm came, and this incident occurred. A slab broke. Workers were on-site as the night shift was active. Due to the slab breaking, five to six people have died. A support structure has also fallen."Search and rescue operations are still going on because officials worry that more workers might still be buried under the heavy rubble.
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